


a brutal harmony

by Anonymous



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Circle Mage Bethany Hawke, F/F, Sex for Favors, Unhealthy Relationships, Warrior Hawke (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:48:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29542593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: When Bethany Hawke was brought to the Gallows, it didn't take long for Marian to arrive, longsword at the ready.
Relationships: Female Hawke/Meredith Stannard
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7
Collections: Nobody Expects the Dragon Age Smutquisition





	a brutal harmony

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ziskandra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziskandra/gifts).



When Bethany Hawke was brought to the Gallows, it didn't take long for Marian to arrive, longsword at the ready. Meredith's fingers twitched around the pommel of her greatsword, but she didn't draw her weapon. That was a good start.

"Your sister Bethany's cooperation speaks highly of her," she said, each word carefully enunciated, no doubt measured with the intention to quell the fury that burned from deep within Marian's blood and bones. It was obvious from their previous encounters that Meredith was wary of reavers. She found the self-induced blood frenzies, and the consumption of souls - not to mention the initiation ritual itself - distasteful and bordering on blasphemous. But the fact remained that she had no jurisdiction over reavers.

"Yeah, well, I'm afraid you shouldn't expect _cooperation_ from me." Her anger had begun to make her skin prickle beneath the weight of her armor.

"You're lucky not to be charged with harbouring an apostate," Meredith said coolly, gesturing towards the seat at her desk. Marian sat, though she was deeply unhappy about it, and made sure to let it show. "But I've been advised that your services - and by extension your _sister's_ services - to Kirkwall are not to be overlooked."

"In other words, I'm rich and influential now." Meredith pursed her lips as Marian pressed the tip of her blade into one of the table legs. Truly, it had been Cullen who'd pissed her off the most, for charging into her uncle's home with his oversized pauldrons hiding the chip on his shoulder, but the table was a good enough outlet.

"Not so influential as to be exempt from Chantry law," Meredith said plainly. Something about the way she said it made Marian laugh, her earlier anger beginning to dissipate.

"You must be _really_ fun at parties. That is, assuming anyone's ever invited you to one." Meredith rolled her eyes, but Marian caught a glimpse of what she'd been expecting, if not quite hoping for. An opening.

"I'm not here to demand an exemption," Marian relented, raking her fingers through her messy black hair, lamenting the fact that she hadn't yet had time to wash it since returning from the Deep Roads. "I'm here because I want assurances."

"And exactly what _assurances_ do you expect me to offer?" Then, unspoken: _and at what cost?_ Meredith stepped closer, a glimmer of curiosity taking form in her sharp, blue eyes, and Marian really, really hoped Varric's source was as reliable as he claimed, because if not...well, she'd be in deeper shit than she already was, and after a year in Lowtown that was saying something. But she _did_ trust Varric, and so rose to her feet to kiss Knight-Commander Meredith on the lips.

Meredith was hesitant, but she didn't pull back or try to push Marian away, which told her all she needed to know. Varric's templar friend hadn't been lying about Meredith 'having the hots for her' (their words, not his, if the air quotes were anything to go by), and that was something she could use. She owed that much to Bethany.

"Get rid of Alrik," she whispered, still close enough that she could feel Meredith's uneven breath upon her lips. "Consider this a downpayment."

Ser Alrik was gone by the end of the week.

Marian didn't care enough to ask how or where he'd gone before burying her face between Meredith's well-muscled thighs. She'd grown so used to seeing the hard, sharp angles of the templar armor that she'd been almost shocked to discover the softness concealed beneath. (Her quarters, on the other hand, were as spartan as Marian had imagined.) Meredith was far from hideous, at least on the outside, which made things easier. That, and fucking a woman who looked like Andraste had been one of Marian's fantasies before she'd even laid eyes upon Meredith.

Marian thrusted two of her fingers up into Meredith's slick cunt, the flat of her tongue still dragging back and forth over her clit. Meredith was quiet, but not unresponsive - the fast, shallow breaths, the arch of her back, and the way she pushed back against Marian's touch with such urgency were all more than enough. Meredith clamped her hand over her own mouth when she came with a shudder, spraying over Marian's fingers and mouth.

"Woah." She hadn't expected that, but she had to admit it _was_ kind of hot. She flicked her tongue over her clit once more as Meredith sighed, and looked up at her flushed cheeks, the thin film of sweat on her brow, and the golden nest of hair spread out over her pillow. She could almost pass for a regular person. _Almost._

"I want you to reinstate Samson," Marian said the next time she found herself in Meredith's quarters, riding a strap-on that she was _pretty_ sure resembled a dragon cock - not that she'd actually seen one, but it was big and ridged and felt fucking _amazing_ as it moved inside her. She'd lost count of how many times she'd come, but she remembered the enraptured look on Meredith's face each time all too well. Now, she writhed beneath her as Marian leaned forward to catch one of her nipples between her lips.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I want you to," Marian said, rolling her hips, "and _you_ want _me."_ Meredith didn't deny that, but Marian could tell that this wasn't going to be as easy as when she'd asked her to discharge Alrik. Letting him go had been no great loss for Meredith, but letting Samson, an ex-templar known for his leniency towards mages, back into the Order was another matter.

"You ask too much." Marian shrugged, then promptly disentangled herself from Meredith. If looks could kill, Marian would be dead ten times over, but she stood her ground, even as she wished her armor didn't take quite so long to get back into.

"Alright. If you change your mind...well, you know where to find me." She didn't think it would be by the end of the week this time, but that was fine. Marian had plenty of other things to do, like find one of those dildos for herself. Maybe she'd have some luck in the Black Emporium.

It was six weeks before Meredith summoned her to her office again, and Marian was irritated with how restless she'd become in the meantime. Getting into fights with Lowtown thugs in the Hanged Man didn't really help, and neither had visiting Bethany, whose coldness had stung more than she'd expected.

"I've made some...preliminary inquiries with regards to Samson," she said, as Marian sat down in the horrifically upholstered chair once more. She almost thanked Meredith, even though the words were like bile in her throat.

"Good to hear," she said instead. She'd thought about suggesting that Bethany came home for a weekend, but that had been before their somewhat frosty encounter, and she didn't want to push Meredith too hard. She couldn't _know_ she was being pushed at all, because that would jeopardize everything Marian had been doing, both here and outside of the Gallows. For Bethany. For all mages.

She leaned over the table and kissed Meredith, stroking her hair with one hand and caressing her cheek with the other.

_For Bethany._


End file.
